Can-opener



(No Model.)

- 0. C. THOMPSON.

' GAN OPENER.

No 556,223. Patented Mar. 10', 1896.

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`FFIG1aA OLIVERC. THOMPSON, 4OF .EMPORIA,. KANSAS.

CAN'- O PEN E-R.;

SPECIFIGATIONforming part ofY Letters Patent No. 556,22-3,date`d li/larchu 10, 1896.

Application filed July-6,1895.VV Serial-Nor. 555,104'. (Nomodel.)

To` @ZZP whom. 1f/'may con/cern,.-`

Beit: known that I,'OLIvER-.C; THOMPSON,

of Emporia', in the county 0f Lyon and State of Kansas, have inventeda new and useful Improvement in'Can-Openers, ofwhichthe following is a specication.

My invention. is an. improvement in that class of hand can-openers that consist of a bar or lever having a point for piercing the head of a sheet-metal canand provided with a knife or cutter so arranged that when the said lever is turned on the said point it cuts out a circular portion of the can-head.

The invention is embodied in the construction and the manner of its attachment to the lever of an adjustable clamp that carries the knife or cutter, also in the construction and arrangement of the latter relative to the head of the clamp, as hereinafter described and shown in accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side view of my improved canopener applied to a can for cutting out the head thereof. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the can-opener. Fig. 3 is a cross-section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a side view of the instrument, the clamp and knife-holder being shown raised, as required to enable it to be adjusted. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the clamp and knife-holder detached, and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the lever separate from the clamp and knife.

The lever A is a iiat metal bar having a slotted handle portion l and a curved point 2 at the other end for piercing the heads of cans, and serving also as a center around which the lever proper is rotated in the operation of cutting out the can-head. The lever has two aligned longitudinal slots 3 4, that adapt it for attachment to a lever-clamp or clamping device B, to which the cutter C is secured. The said device B (best shown in Fig. 5) consists of a fiat bar having a downwardly bent or inclined portion, whose lateral projections 5 give it a T form, a clamping-screw 6 arranged at the other end of the clamp, and an intermediate fulcrum 7. The bent portion of the T-shaped head is inclined at an obtuse angle (about thirty degrees) and forms a seat for the knife C, which is secured thereon by a screw. The head proper has a fiat beveled under surface, Figs. 1 and 4, and is provided with serrations or grooveson the upper side of .its projections 5 to adapt it to engage (Fig.- l) like Aserrations 8 on the underside of the lever A.

The screw 6.oftheclan1ping device B has a flat head, which is. narrowery in one diameter than the slot 4 in the lever A, so that when lever A on each side of the slot.

In Fig. 4 the device B is shown raised in the position required to enable it to be adjusted along the lever A, which adjustment is necessary to adapt the instrument to cans of different diameters or for cutting circular portions of different diameters. In Figs. l and 2 the` said device B'is shown in normal locked position, the lateral projections 5 of the T-head being held firmly in engagement with the serrations 8 of the leverA by reason of the screw 6 having been screwed up and its head thereby brought into firm contact with the lever A. It will be seen that in this operation the parts 7 serve as a point of leverage. Thus simply by turning and adjusting the screw 6 the clamping device B may be adjusted and locked in position as required.

The knife or cutter C consists of a flat shank, and a notched V-shaped blade that projects laterally is also beveled on its outer side, as shown, so as to form a sharp cutting-edge and also to adapt it to turn up the edge of the cutout portion of a can-head, as shown in Fig. l.

In using the instrument, the point 2 having been inserted in a can-head, as shown in Fig. 1,*the free or handle portion 1 is pressed down, thus causing the point of the cutter C to pierce the can-head, and the lever A being then turned on its pivot from right to left, the knife C sweeps in a circle and cuts out a circular portion of the can-head. In this operation the metal is forced into the lateral notch of the knife C between the inclined edge of the latter and the angular edge of the T-head of the clamp or knife-holder B, whereby the metal is severed by a draw cut.

It will be further noted that in consequence of the inclination of the knife C toward the IOO edge the edge of the severed portion of the can-l1ead is turned up, as shown in Fig. 1, while the other or outer edge is held down flat. This turning up of the inner edge enables it to be easily engaged by a finger or tool for raising the partly-severed portion of the can-head.

From the foregoing it will appear that my invention is distinguished by the peculiar construction and attachment of the clamp or knife-holder, which enables it to be adjusted as described; also by the construction whereby the niet-al is severed by a clear draw or shear cnt, which enables the lever to be operated with great ease, and whereby the severed portion is turned up, as stated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a can-opener, the combination, with the lever, having a piercing-point and slotted as specified, of a knife or cutter, a knife-hold ing clamp, having a fulcrum on the upper side of the lever, and a T-head adapted to engage the under side of the lever, a screw, applied to the other end of the clamp, and having a head which is narrower in one diameter than the slot in the lever, as shown and described.

2. In a can-opener, the combination, with the lever, having lengthwise slot or slots, a piercing-point, and serrations on its under side, of the adjustable knife-holding clamp, composed of a bar, having at one end a clamping-screw which is constructed as specified, to adapt it to pass through the slot and also engage the lever, and at the other end a downwardly-bent T-liead whose lateral projections are grooved to engage the like serrations of the lever, and a fulcrumarranged near thc middle of said bar on the upper side of the lever, and the knife secured in a forwardly inclined position, 011 the inclined head of the lever, and having a downwardly and laterally projecting point which is beveled on the in ner side, as shown and described.

In testimony of all which l have hereunto subscribed my name.

OLIVER C. THOMPSON. XVitIiesses:

J. T. BURTON, GEORGE S. SIMoNs. 

